The Best Rescue Strategy – Humility, Prayer, Discernment 

Written By Kim Miller

Arizonans wanting to rescue preborn babies and restore the lives of their mothers are thrilled! --yet in a difficult spot. The recent decision by the Arizona Supreme Court rightly interpreted the procedural matters regarding our abortion law, determining that Arizona’s pre-Roe law is once again enforceable. Now Arizona protects every pre-born infant at every stage unless the mother’s life is at risk. 

Pro-life Arizonans are mostly unified in our joy that nearly every baby will see their birthday, and that countless pregnancy centers can love and help their mothers’ needs! But there’s much debate among pro-life citizens and leaders regarding the political implications--given a majority of Arizonans disagree with the total ban, even more than they disagree with the radical, abortion-on-demand measure being put forth by Democrats. See Arizona’s Supreme Court Decision on Abortion: Wake-up Call to Republicans.  
 
Now all eyes are on Arizona, and on Arizona women. Their money and media are in full force, wanting to know what Arizona women are thinking. (The New York Times interviewed me and other pro-life leaders last week.) See the full AZWOA position here.  
 
Our state Capitol has been unhinged over what to do. We have a powerful enemy, so the most powerful call to action is humility, prayer and discernment. “If… My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14) 
 
Instead of fighting, our leaders must come together and humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s discernment. That’s the prerequisite to any wise strategy. 

How can you and I be prepared to make the case for life? Our own Debi Vandenboom recorded an excellent video for everyone to discern their own position on abortion. She gave us permission to share the transcript with you. You’ll be ready and confident with a reasoned opinion. Thank you, Debi! ~ Kim Miller 

With all the discussion about abortion that is happening right now, it is important that each person clarifies what they believe and why they believe it. I was talking to someone who thought that a fifteen-week ban was the right limit, and I asked what should have been a straightforward question. “What is the difference between a pre-born baby at 14 weeks 6 days, and a baby at 15 weeks 1day?”  It is a two-day difference but one would be legal to abort and the other would not. Why? What is the difference between the two?  If there is not an actual reason, then it is a purely arbitrary line. So, we must look at this through a broader lens.  If there is nothing at all inherently wrong with abortion, then it should be legal through all nine months, for every reason, using any type of procedure, with no limits. If we are putting limits on abortion, why are we doing it?  There must be a reason. There must be something wrong that needs to be limited. So where is that line?  

Do we look through the lens of science?  If so, is that limit at conception when scientists can see a literal “spark of life” at the moment of fertilization when they watch it under a microscope? Is the limit at 21 days when the baby’s heart first starts beating? Is it at 6 weeks when they can determine through bloodwork, because of the unique DNA of the baby present throughout the mother’s bloodstream, whether she’s having a boy or a girl? Is it at the end of the first trimester when every single organ is present, brainwaves can be detected, and the baby has the sense of touch, so he or she can feel the abortion procedure.  Should it be 15 weeks as many are currently claiming?  At 15 weeks, doctors can begin predicting with some accuracy whether a baby will be right or left-handed based on which thumb she sucks in utero.  Is it at 21 weeks when the youngest viable baby to survive outside the womb was born?  Many claim that 24 weeks is the point of viability. However, even that is not completely accurate. We know that there are full term babies who do not survive. Are they not “viable”?  We also know that through IVF, embryos that have been recently fertilized can remain “viable” outside the womb for years. So, viability is quite difficult to narrow down and to define.  

Should we look at abortion through the lens of sociology?  Sociology tells us that any time we have a people group who has fewer rights than another people group, oppression is going to happen.  We’ve seen this throughout history across all races and in all countries.  There is currently no people group who has fewer human rights than pre-born children. Therefore, abuse and oppression against the pre-born is often accepted by society.   

What about the issue of abortion as it relates to the oppression of women?  Most people assume that a lack of abortion access is a form of oppression of women, but what about the ways in which abortion itself oppresses women? Women self-report a 30—65% instance of being strongly pressured or even coerced into having an abortion. How can that be empowering?  The internet is also full of personal accounts of women who regret their abortion, or had traumatic abortion experiences. Many women tell accounts of feeling lied to about the abortion pill either about the physical experience, or about seeing their identifiable first trimester baby in the toilet when they were expecting nothing more than a heavy period. There are also many news stories and court documents available online about abusive men giving a wife or girlfriend abortion pills without her knowledge or using abortion to cover up sex crimes against underage girls. Shouldn’t an advanced, educated society be able to protect and support both women and the pre-born? 

We can also look at abortion through a biblical lens and say that either God is the author and finisher of life, or He's not. Is He the author and finisher of life? Do you believe that? Does He create life? In the Bible God says, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5)  He created every single human being on purpose and for a purpose. He has a plan for each individual life. If that is the case, then the circumstances of a child’s conception, or the circumstances of the life that child will be born into do not have an impact on the value of that child. Every child, born and pre-born, has inherent value because he or she was created in the image of God. Period.  

So, when we look at the issue of abortion, and at abortion limits and laws, it is important to think through all of that. There is a lot of emotion surrounding this, which is completely understandable. There is also a lot of theatrics and political maneuvering happening. There are a lot of people saying many different things. Because of that, it is crucial that we each take some time to really think through all of these things.  Do some research. Pray. Soul search. Figure out on your own not only what you believe, but why you believe it. What is the foundation of your position?  Is it science? Is it sociology?  Is it the unchanging Word of God? This is going to be a big topic of conversation this election year, both in Arizona and across the country. If we are going to be able to have conversations with others without getting upset, angry, or fearful and without reacting purely out of emotion, we need to have a strong understanding of our own beliefs so we can weed through all that is happening around us. The political and financial stakeholders who profit from abortion are trying to get the public to focus on all of the craziness, on the headlines and the dramatics. But we need to focus on what is true, what is right, and what is good. (Philippians 4:8) 

  

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Kim Miller
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